Physicians

LETTER WRITER L.C. Seigler's characterization of all physicians to be in favor of abortion is completely and absolutely false. As a matter of fact, a majority of physicians are against abortion. The lawyers and legislators are the ones in favor of abortion; they legislated abortion to be legalized in the 1970s.Most physicians subscribe to the Hippocratic Oath, with the exception probably of those trained during the ''Age of Aquarius'' - the new generation.E. Roger Alilin, M.D.SANFORD

My grandfather and father were both physicians, and although I agree with Stan Sujka's position about forbidding the help of physicians with an individual's attempt to commit suicide, as he stated in the "Friday Forum," I can't help but note that the good doctor contradicted his own opinion by stating a method of ending one's life. Anyone who reads his printed opinion and follows his directions, and thus ends his life, has received assistance from a physician in doing so. Robert B. Dodd Kissimmee

Family Physicians Group, one of Orlando's largest primary care doctors group with 57 physicians, has purchased Medical and Geriatric Associates of Kissimmee, which adds another 19 doctors to the practice. The geriatric practice, under the medical direction of Dr. Mario Sobrino, has been an affiliated with Family Physicians for 10 years. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. "The acquisition expands Family Physicians Group's presence in Osceola County to four locations," said Dr. Nayana Vyas, FPG owner.

The Aug. 17 "My Word" column by Ken Kincaid is the best of the many articles and letters addressing the nursing shortage. But I disagree on one point, one that everyone repeats. In general, I don't think nurses are treated badly by physicians these days. Physicians are not the enemy in this. They have their own set of burdens. Ruth Kelley Orlando

I would like to congratulate the staff of the Sentinel for your comprehensive coverage of the difficult dilemma of at-risk drivers and for your position encouraging our health-care professionals to begin to address these important issues with their patients. Research has shown that patients and their family members listen to the recommendations of physicians and rely heavily on their expertise. The upcoming report of the American Medical Association will help physicians begin to address these important public-safety issues more effectively.

AFTER READING the article ''Foreign Doctor Issue Alive, Well'' in the Aug. 21 Sentinel, I was chagrined to think that there are people in this country who actually support allowing foreign physicians to practice without meeting all prerequisites that American physicians are required to meet. Why must we always compromise for immigrants? It's enough to grant them citizenship. After that, it should be incumbent upon them to adhere to our standards and rules.So what if they must seek employment as bartenders, grocery clerks or taxi drivers?

Thirty years ago when Dr. Byron Thames opened his Orlando practice, a typical day might have meant assisting in the operating room, setting broken bones, delivering babies or treating a heart attack.That was the heyday of the family doctor, the standard-bearer of the profession. It was a time when that venerable television doctor, Marcus Welby, represented the public's image of the family physician and medicine in general.Today the family practice is at a critical crossroads.Patient visits are at their lowest level in 10 years as other specialties take a bigger chunk of the business and fewer medical students are entering the specialty; residency programs are declining, and family physicians often find themselves on the bottom rung of the medical prestige ladder.

Is there a doctor in the house? Not enough of them if you live in Florida, according to a new report that says the Sunshine State faces a critical shortage of family physicians in the coming decade. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, Florida must increase its ranks of family doctors by 63 percent during the next 15 years. The state is among five considered in the worst shape to deal with an onslaught of aging baby boomers. The others are Nevada, Arizona, Texas and Idaho.

The editor of the New England Journal of Medicine Wednesday chastized the growing number of physicians with financial conflicts of interest that could interfere with their treatment of patients.With increasing frequency medical practitioners are seeking profits from business arrangements with hospitals, equipment manufacturers and companies providing ambulatory health care services, Dr. Arnold S. Relman said.Physicians also now have financial interests in diagnostic clinics, walk- in surgery centers, dialysis units, physical therapy centers and other such facilities.

Dr. Boris Todorovic put others at ease and had a "gift" of giving patients hope, recalled a former nurse of the Mount Dora physician killed in a car crash last week. Once when treating an alcoholic patient Todorovic tenderly touched the patient's arm and shared his own personal struggles as encouragement, said Rebecca Beattie, one of his nurses at Citrus Memorial Hospital in Inverness. "He had such empathy for those patients it could just bring tears to your eyes," Beattie said.

The food court at Orlando International Airport offered plenty of choices as Thanksgiving approached: no turkey and stuffing, but lots of pizza, hamburgers, doughnuts and fried chicken, along with salads, fresh fruit and sushi. The vast majority of diners went for the fried stuff and other fat- and sodium-laden specialties nutritionists say is bad for you. That's not really a surprise to the nonprofit Physicians Committee, which recently ranked Orlando International 10 t h among the 18 busiest airports in the country based on the healthful-food options offered by on-site eateries.

Authorities on Friday raided the offices and home of a Central Florida physician as part of a probe into suspected improper prescribing practices. Ibem Borges, who has offices in Orlando and Kissimmee, has already been the target of two separate Department of Health complaints alleging he wrote prescriptions for powerful painkillers to people who didn't have a true medical need for the drug. Dozens of agents raided Borges' Chuluota home and searched his clinics on Oakridge Road in Orlando and Vine Street in Kissimmee.

I have alluded in the past to what I believe will be a crisis in medicine in the not-too-distant future — a shortage of physicians. I think this is an issue that should concern everyone, including physicians. You see I will also be a patient at various times in my life so a good supply of competent physicians is important to me, too. One paradigm shift I have seen in my career has been the change from physicians as colleagues to competitors. The reasons for this are many but most can be distilled to a basic concern, which is economic.

Our cash-strapped schools already are overburdened with more issues than their administrators and teachers can hope to tackle effectively. Expecting them to police the use of performance-enhancing drugs without major assistance is unrealistic. But why can't Florida, arguably the top breeding ground in the nation for college talent and pro draft picks, ask for a helping hand from the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball? In light of Tuesday's announcement that the Florida High School Athletic Association is launching a top-to-bottom review of its policies on PEDs, the bottom line is going to be what it always comes down to in the world of Florida education.

Medical leaders are urging doctors to renew their ancient traditions and donate more care to the poor.Many doctors are already caring for patients for free by working as missionaries in the Third World or as volunteers in needy areas of the United States.Others work in free clinics, perform screening examinations in shopping centers and tend to the homeless on the streets.There is no way to measure the full value of the collected services of these medical volunteers because no one can compile a complete list of such activities.

Although Oregon voters last week decided for the second time to allow doctors to prescribe fatal doses of drugs to terminally ill patients, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration has warned that physicians who help someone commit suicide will risk their license to write prescriptions.A measure aimed at repealing the successful 1994 ''Death With Dignity'' ballot initiative legalizing physician-assisted suicides was defeated 60 percent to 40 percent.But now many doctors in Oregon fear that prescribing lethal doses of barbiturates and other drugs would jeopardize their practices if the threat is not withdrawn, supporters of assisted suicide said Wednesday.

CLERMONT - South Lake Hospital is one of the best - No. 3 in Metro Orlando and No. 22 in Florida, according to U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings of hospitals that came out this week. "We've emphasized quality patient care across our campus," said John Moore, hospital president. "This recognition validates the hard work and the heart of our team members and physicians. " The 122-bed South Lake Hospital, which has 1,100 employees and has more than 200 physicians on its medical staff, also was rated as high performing in orthopedics by the digital magazine.